Mohammed Omar

Mohammed Omar (1959-) was the President of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from 27 September 1996 to 13 November 2001, and the spiritual leader of the Taliban after the Afghanistan War.

Biography
Born in Nodeh in Uruzgan Province in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, Omar was known to be shy and non-talkative with foreigners. In the 1980s he lost an eye fighting against the Soviet Union in the Soviet-Afghan War, and emerged as the leader of the Taliban ("Students") organization after the war's end in 1989. With the Mujahideen going separate ways, he defeated the Northern Alliance of Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and Hazaras (among others) and took control of Afghanistan, announcing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996. He continued to fight the rebels until 2001, when the United States invaded the country to root out the Al-Qaeda terrorists that Omar sheltered. The Americans deposed the Taliban government and Omar went into hiding, leading a Taliban insurgency against the Americans in most of the provinces.